The Truth of Haruhi Suzumiya
by Kaji-Kun93
Summary: Everyone knew one day this day would come, the day where Haruhi Suzumiya would get suspicious of all the secretive actions of the SOS Brigade.  Kyon has to break the news to her, but in doing so, prompts action from the forces vying for her power.
1. Suspicion

A/N: Don't expect too much psychological crap from me, as I am not as well versed as some other people that write these stories.

* * *

It was a normal spring day.

Oh, how I wish I could say that line to describe my days, but unfortunately for me, I have a person named Haruhi in my life.

We were sitting in class, and as usual, I was miserably failing to pay attention, despite Haruhi's best attempts to keep me focused.

Haruhi poked me in the back again.

"Kyon! Pay attention! Your grades won't raise themselves, you know. As Brigade Chief, I will not tolerate any of my subordinates getting bad grades!"

Typical Haruhi.

But as this story's focus isn't about my falling grades, I will skip ahead to the relevant parts.

The bell rung, signaling the end of the day, and Haruhi, like normal, grabbed me as I barely managed to get all my things before sprinting me to the stairwell.

The stairwell is a nostalgic place for both of us. It was where the idea of a club was born, and fostered into the SOS Brigade. But why here, instead of the clubroom, where she usually drags me?

Haruhi gave a face similar to a wolf about to chomp on her prey, and I started to worry. My intuition screamed danger, and I knew that I wouldn't like this conversation one bit.

"Alright Kyon! I want answers! I know that you and the rest of the Brigade are keeping secrets from me, and as Brigade Chief, I refuse to not know every little detail about my members!"

Isn't there something called privacy we are entitled to?

"Also, secrets should not be kept secret, especially to your supreme leader."

Isn't that the point of secrets...? Also, that sentence makes no sense. I give up trying to figure out her reasoning.

"Be quiet Kyon! So, you have ten seconds to talk, or I will give you the worst punishment I can think of!"

I would insert a smart comment here, but my mind is too busy racing to think of any excuse to give her. I tried to buy time.

"What do you think we're hiding?"

That was probably not the smartest thing to say in a situation like this. It was like… No I cannot make a comparison to this kind of dangerous situation.

Haruhi just merely glared at me.

"You should know, Kyon!"

Obviously I knew what she was talking about. Yesterday, as we left school with Haruhi and Asahina-san (Nagato had already disappeared as we waited for Asahina-san to change back), Koizumi and I had another one of our discussions trailing behind Haruhi and Asahina-san. This is something like how the conversation went.

"Kyon, it seems like Suzumiya-san has more closed spaces recently."

Like I know why, bastard. I kept a watchful eye on Haruhi, cautious.

"I see."

"Something has been bothering Suzumiya for a while, though she tries hard to ignore it. If she creates more closed spaces…"

In hindsight, we should never discuss such things while Haruhi was within a few meters of us. It was warm, and I realized suddenly that there was barely any noise, like the world turned silent.

Haruhi stopped walking suddenly and Koizumi, realizing the danger, shut his mouth instantly.

She turned back towards us, glaring at us. I knew we were in trouble, despite us talking softly and taking precautions not to let Haruhi hear. Sometimes I forget how sharp her hearing was. We were at least walking three meters away and talking as soft as possible.

"I heard my name in your conversation. What business do you have with the Brigade chief that you cannot say in front of my face!"

Koizumi, the sneaky bastard he usually was, made up an excuse on the spot.

"We were just discussing spots that you might want to go to, Suzumiya-san, we mean no harm."

Unfortunately, we should've realized that Haruhi heard every single word being said between us, despite Asahina-san's attempt to keep her in conversation.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion even more, and scrutinized us like we were under a magnifying glass.

"Then what are these 'closed spaces' you are talking about? I never heard of that location before."

Koizumi faltered for a millisecond, before trying to give another excuse. Haruhi stopped him.

"I don't want your explanations, Koizumi. Let Kyon explain."

If there is one thing in the world I respect and fear, it's Haruhi's intuition. She instinctively known that Koizumi would lie, and now I was put into the spotlight to cover our asses.

I resisted the urge to stumble on my words as I made an excuse on the spot as everyone stared at me.

"Closed spaces are another name for places where you are not allowed to go."

Haruhi scoffed at my explanation without even listening to it. Why did I even bother?

"I will let this go… For now. But you better eventually explain what you really were talking about, or heads will roll!"

Haruhi stomped off, obviously not happy at her perceived betrayal of her members, and I walked back to my house, and surprisingly Koizumi did not follow or even call that night.

I had hoped that Haruhi would forget by the time school finished the next day, but of course this was not the case. I would rather go on another of her crazy schemes then deal with this problem.

My silence told bounds, and Haruhi impatiently waited for an answer. She slowly realized that I had nothing else to say at the moment, and for a second, she looked lost and helpless.

Haruhi turned away, and before she did, I caught a glimpse of something. Experiences with Nagato and Koizumi taught me to read the smallest changes in facial expressions, and for a second, I saw Haruhi's eyes filled with… betrayal?

She ran off, disappearing around a corner and I slowly walked to the clubroom, afraid that I have set off the end of the world yet again.

I opened the door to see everyone except Haruhi sitting in their usual spots. Nagato was quietly reading in the corner, flipping a page as I looked at her.

Asahina was in her maid costume again, serving tea. She offered me a cup, and I quickly swallowed it, hoping to get the bitter taste out of my mouth. Even this heavenly tea made from a goddess herself couldn't cure my guilt.

Koizumi stared at me, his customary smile was gone, replaced by a far more serious look. I almost wished he would do his fake smile again to show that everything was under control.

"I supposed you didn't have another private chat with Suzumiya-san, did you."

It was that bad, huh? But she's overreacting to something small, as usual.

"Suzumiya-san has destabilized within the past few minutes, creating many closed spaces, but surprisingly, they are manageable. But, I fear we may have another problem besides that."

What can be worse than an out of control, emotionally distressed Haruhi that could destroy the world at any moment because of this situation? Even though this situation seems to come up a lot, I still feel nervous every times it happens.

"Three minutes ago, I had an strong urge to go up to Suzumiya-san and tell the truth about everything. I managed to resist the urge, but still, it is concerning how close I was. I suspect it was Suzumiya-san's desire for the truth out of us that lead to these new emotions."

What? Are you serious? Haruhi's playing around with your mind to get you to tell her the truth?

"Also, I believe it was the fact that subconsciously, she still respects our opinions and decisions as friends, so I was not forced to just tell of my powers against my will, but the longer it goes on, the worse it will get."

I can't just believe this. I need secondary confirmation. I look over at Nagato.

"Is this true, Nagato?"

An almost unperceivable nod of her head.

"At exactly three minutes and twenty two seconds ago, I had an urge to tell Haruhi Suzumiya about the Data Integration Thought Entity and my status as a humanoid interface, or as you like to call it, an alien. I then proceeded to negate the command, though strong as it was."

I looked at the last member of our Brigade. Is this supposed to happen in the future?

"Classified information."

I knew that they wouldn't be willing to tell me anything, as it was still the future.

"Kyon, I suggest that, however absurd it sounds, to tell her the whole truth yourself."

Koizumi emphasized 'whole truth' when he spoke. I get it, okay?

"I think it would be rather unpleasant if Suzumiya finds out through us. Recall the time when you tried to tell her yourself, then imagine an already mistrustful Suzumiya-san thinking we're all playing a bad joke on her when she's at her low point."

If it already failed once, how do expect me to get her to believe in the truth?

"I know you, Kyon. You know better to put your full trust in any of the people we work for, and I can bet everything I have you know of a way to get Suzumiya-san to believe you if everything goes bad with us."

Damn you Koizumi for always being right.

"My superiors also agree on this course of action, though they dislike the idea."

I turned to Nagato on her opinion.

"The Data Integration Thought Entity believes this is the wisest course of action as an unstable Suzumiya will create more problems for observation." She turned back to her book, calm despite the huge decision they were making.

Asahina just gave me encouragement, unable to say anything about this decision besides her own personal opinion.

"Just do what you think is right, Kyon-kun."

Alright, I have to tell her the thing we were trying to hide for the past year. Looking back on it, it was amazing that we were able to keep such a secret from her from all the mishaps we had.

I guess it was only a matter of time before she found out anyways.

As I was about to leave to go find Haruhi, Koizumi gave a ominous warning.

"Kyon, some opposing organizations might take extreme actions based on this decision. Be careful, though she is like a god, she is still also human."

The door clicked as I closed it shut. Sigh, time to figure out how to break it to her.


	2. Action

The Truth of Haruhi Suzumiya Chapter 2: Action

* * *

As I closed the door to the SOS Brigade room, I realized I had absolutely no idea where Haruhi is if she wasn't in the clubroom.

But as much as I wanted to sit down and relax in the clubroom with everyone, enjoying the time off, I knew that it was impossible to do at this point in time.

Not knowing what to do, I called her cell phone. Though it rang a few times, it quickly came to the answering machine. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

Or would it? Looking out the window that went over the school ground, I spotted a figure striding quickly towards the exit of our school, head slightly lowered but I recognized her immediately.

There was no time to think; I had to catch up to her.

I sprinted down the halls, faster than Haruhi even at her most energetic and active could drag me along, boosted by my feelings of guilt.

Though she was moving quickly, my motivated sprint quickly made me catch up to her.

"Haruhi!" I said that with much more force than I wanted.

Surprised at my sudden appearance, slightly winded from my short sprint to the school gates, Haruhi looked up, startled at my sudden forcefulness.

Most people would lose their drive here, where they may know that they were finally going to tell but their brains refused to say it, but I did not hesitate for a second to tell her the truth.

I was always a supporter of telling Haruhi the truth. Though she was eccentric, impulsive, demanding, and aggressive, she also was supportive, caring of her friends, and had a good sense of right and wrong. I swear she cared more about my grades than my parents (and they cared a lot too, my little sister can attest to), making study groups with the SOS Brigade just to help me, or giving me her notes and homework to get through the school year.

I suppose I was not immune to the brain's defense response to secrets, even as motivated as I was, I still couldn't speak for a second.

Haruhi stared at me confused and slightly angry, but I got the impression she was hopeful she could just forgive and forget this incident. Like she would be able to forget the things I was about to tell her in a long time.

We stood outside the school gates, Haruhi waiting to see what I would say.

"Haruhi, I'm sorry."

"Hmph."

She turned away, but I could tell that she was still listening closely, as she didn't immediately did not walk away.

"Please don't blame us for keeping this secret for the past year from you."

I was stalling again. Psychologically, it is hard to tell something you've been trying very hard to keep secret for a long time.

"Kyon, stop stalling."

I will say it here and now, my trump card against all the people that wanted to use Haruhi for their own plans.

"I am-"

My danger sense was blaring again, a sure sign something was wrong. I whirled around, scanning the roads and I saw a conspicuous black car speed towards us.

"Look out!"

I grabbed her hand and pulled her in the school again. Unfortunately, my danger sense was right again, as the car suddenly stopped in front of the gates.

We didn't have time to react as I felt my neck be punctured by something, probably a tranquilizer dart.

My eyes and limbs grew heavy suddenly as the tranquilizer went through my system. Both of us fell down heavily, Haruhi on top of me. She was already knocked out and asleep.

I struggled against the muddling effects of the tranquilizer, but being a normal high school student (which I now half-regretted, as I had no power to predict the future, do some data manipulation, or use ESP to somehow stop the tranquilizer in the first place), it was impossible.

The last thing I knew before I finally closed my eyes was that I was thrown in the car with Haruhi before getting the familiar feeling of moving in a car.

* * *

Darkness. A call for help. I heard my name being called multiple times.

Where am I?

My eyes feel heavy. My limbs were numb.

Haruhi… Where is she?

I feel empty. How long has it been since we've been kidnapped?

My thoughts are jumbled, but I finally get a hold of myself and open my eyes.

I was lying on a cot, obviously in some type of jail cell.

The walls and the room were grey and bare, but the door, which was a dark red with a window in it.

I sat up, but the blood rushing out of my head left me lightheaded and dizzy for a few seconds. I wobbly stood up, and walked slow steps to the door. It was locked, but there was a tiny window. I peered out, but to stare at the opposite white wall with nothing on it.

I gave up and sat down on my cot. Cell phone confiscated, nothing on me except my wallet with no money in it and my ID.

Where was Haruhi?

I heard quick excited voices outside my door suddenly, and after hearing the sounds of the lock shifting, I heard the door open.

A man entered, obviously the leader, an intimidating height of around six feet, well built, and dressed in a dark suit. He was followed by two guards holding rifles, which somehow looked less scary than the look the dark look the man was spouting.

"Alright, 'Kyon'," he spat my hated nickname like it was some sort of curse, "it's time for your interrogation."

Since you know my name, why don't you introduce yourself?

The man just merely shook his head as he motioned for the guards to take me.

I was dragged out of the room into a hallway going through many twists and turns before they stopped at another red door in the wall, looking the exact same as mine.

I would have struggled, but the hungry looks the guards were giving me, as well as the obvious hostility in the air made me not doubt I was seen as expendable and easily 'disposed' of.

The room was almost bare again, except for a familiar figure sleeping on the cot. I tensed at the sight of the still Haruhi, but the leader faced me and smiled. I involuntary shivered at the pure malice of it, but nonetheless stared it down bravely.

In one swift motion, he pulled her up and held a pistol to her head.

"Don't worry, Suzumiya already got the treatment first. After all, 'ladies first'."

My blood literally boiled at that, followed by a sudden sense of hopelessness. Haruhi had nothing to do with what was happening now. There was no way she knew what they were talking about and she must've been scared out of her mind when the same thing happened to her.

I merely glared at the man, not responding at all.

"Oh Kyon, you were always so naïve to think that people would play nice to get things and use things like diplomacy. You would make a good diplomat, with your talking skills."

Shut up. I don't want to hear your voice anymore.

"But here's to the real world, eh?"

Get to the point already.

"But I suppose you are tired of hearing my voice, and want me to get to the point."

How do you know-

"What you're thinking? Because, I haven't introduced myself yet." The man smiled another evil smile from amusement.

"Because, Kyon. I am you."

I recoiled in shock. There was no way this man is, or will be, me in any shape or fashion.

"Ah, Kyon, I used to be so predictable when I was younger."

Don't talk like you are me! You are not me!

"I mean, it seems so impossible that you would turn out to be someone like me."

No… This cannot be happening. Why…

"Classified information." The future me smiled, and I wanted to punch his face in more than Koizumi's for saying it the exact same way as Asahina-san.

"You want to know why? You should ask your friends, they know the truth. They know you're the one to control to really have control of Suzumiya. They were manipulating you from day one of the SOS Brigade."

I tried to stay calm, but the world was pressing around me. I knew he might be screwing with my mind, but the fact that he was me (I was resigned to this fact by now), the smallest of doubts started to sprout.

"They are probably searching everywhere for you two, as holding you two gives them power compared to everyone else. How else would they get their power to control the world?"

I don't want to hear you talk anymore.

"Oh, but I'm just getting started. I mean, don't you wish you didn't know the future now? Ah, I remember how I used to hate that kid… Fujiwara, was his name? How going against the ideals of Asahina-san made you disagree with them. He was like me once, carefree and happy, before realizing how much of the future was forced by the people with power. I am just trying to help you, Kyon, make a better future for myself."

Say that when there isn't a gun pointed at my and Haruhi's head.

He lifted the gun of Haruhi's head and I felt the pressure against my head fade.

"I am just trying to help you, Kyon, make a better future for myself."

Damn you, you know what I meant!

"I suppose I have better take my leave, before I do something I might regret. I will leave you two together."

I was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, and he turned to leave and lock the door.

"Oh, by the way, Kyon, you see me as you do now because I told Haruhi the truth. She will be waking up soon, think on it for a while." The door slammed shut and the sounds of locks told me that I was trapped again.

I sat down against the wall, wondering how long has it been since I've seen the other SOS Brigade members' faces. Though it felt like yesterday for me, I honesty had no idea how long it had been since I was kidnapped.

The truth… This is all what it came down to. If I didn't tell the truth, I knew that it was over for the SOS Brigade. Haruhi would slowly alienate us again; the chasm of trust would be so deep and broken that I doubted everything would be the same again. Despite my 'good intentions', I was still doubtful that this was the right decision.

If I told the truth, maybe I would have some brief happiness, but where would that get me? Obviously something happened to create the person I saw before myself. I was like Fujiwara, who was bitter towards the future. Did I want to condemn myself to becoming the twisted evil person I was?

A thought hit me. This must've not happened in the future, as if I was trying to prevent it, I would not let the same thing happen to me, as I would make the same decisions to get to that point. This did not only concern me, but the whole future rested on what decision I made.

Haruhi groaned, signaling that she was waking up, and I slowly turned my head towards her body.

"Kyon… Kyon!"

She shot up, and not noticing me, tried to stand up and go to the door.

"Dammit, let me out! I'll do anything, just don't kill him!"

"Haruhi…"

She stopped and turned towards me, surprise and relief on her face as she saw me sitting down on the ground near her bed.

"Kyon! You're alive!"

She hugged me tightly, and I awkwardly hugged her back.

"They put a gun to your head, and threatened to kill you if I didn't listen to them and obey."

Though she sounded fine emotionally, her slight tremor in her voice and the hug told me she was everything but fine.

"Kyon… They told me… That you knew why this was happening… It's the secret isn't it…"

Haruhi… I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. When we get out, I won't complain about paying the bill anymore, or getting dragged around by you.

"Kyon… I should be angry, but I can't bring myself to be angry at you, because I knew I caused you a lot of grief too. If… If we get out, I'll pay for everyone."

Wow, Haruhi actually apologizing and then offering to pay? I should be amazed, but I know that this place changed my look on life too. I'll probably have nightmares for years about turning into that bastard I become and what I'll do.

I realize that Haruhi's face is close to mine, and we comfort each other with our presences. Our heads lean closer, and our lips touch.

It was like a spark of hope and energy through my still drugged body in the gloomy cell that we both resided in, and we both reveled in the small intimate touch.

I heard muffled noises outside our cell again, and we quickly pull away, slightly blushing. I walk through the door and peer through the window.

My eyes met with themselves yet again.

I backed off in shock again. The door opened, and there stood myself again, but not that dirty bastard this time. I stared at myself with distrust, and Haruhi stood with her jaw opened, shocked.

"It's only been a week since I was in here. I don't think I had a giant personality change yet."

That's all he said to me before he started to help me out of the room. The next person who entered the room shocked me even more.

A Haruhi Suzumiya entered the room, smiling like a maniac, much to the shock of the other.

"Hi, myself! Oh, Kyon, don't you remember? This is when we kissed like this…"

Much to mine and Haruhi chagrin, the two of them kissed passionately. Damn it, they probably knew how disturbing it is to watch the future yourself kiss, as they lived through this a week ago.

The finally stopped, with both of our future selves smiling like they played a little joke that no one knew about.

Haruhi was the first to recover again.

"H-h-how is this possible? There are two of us! Clones? Identical twins? Ourselves from the future?"

Well you hit the nail on the head, Haruhi, but I cannot stop to explain now.

"Then explain after we get out of here!"

Our future selves peered out of the room. Both the guards had been disabled by some unknown means and they quickly snuck out of the room with us, closing the door and locking it.

We, the past selves, still had difficulty walking, being sedated for who knows how long didn't do anything for your sense of balance and walking ability. But seeing as our future selves made sure we didn't get caught, we leaned on each other for support.

Haruhi kept quiet, but I could tell she was filled with questions to the brim she wanted to ask, but she knew that making noises would get her caught again.

We turned right again for the third time in a row. Why couldn't we just turn left at the first junction to make it simpler?

But then I realized that the path was sloping upwards and finally we came up into a house's basement. We climbed the stairs and exited it to freedom.

The night cool air was refreshing and exhilarating to my lungs, and I took a couple of deep breaths before turning to our future selves.

They were gone already, but I turned around and memorized the address of the house we just exited. In a week's time, we would be back here to rescue ourselves.

Haruhi came to the same realization that I did, and she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Now how am I going to question my future self about the winning lottery numbers for the next weeks draws? Or ask about any bad events so I can prevent it."

Like they would tell you anything about it so you can change it.

"I know myself, if that really is myself. I would never turn down the chance to win the lottery!"

Jeez… It's good to know that all you care about is money when we just escaped a madman's prison.

"Shut up Kyon! I recognize the district we are in, so let's just go home and forget about this and call the police on this person that dared to lock us up."

Normally I would agree, but something told me that our future selves did not disappear to avoid our questioning, but to protect ourselves from some unknown danger.

I knew where to go. Where I have always gone when something out of control happens and I needed advice to fix it. It would also be a good hiding place for Haruhi and I for a while until things calmed down.

We arrived at Nagato's apartment complex after an hour trek through the residential areas and almost getting lost in the dim darkness.

I rang her room.

"Nagato? It's me and Haruhi. Can you let us in?"

"….."

Silence on the other side. Haruhi looked at me quizzically, trying to figure out how I knew Nagato was on the line when nothing was being said.

"…I see."

The doors opened for us, and we traveled to her room.

I knocked on the door and it opened, showing all three members of the SOS Brigade already present and accounted for.

Yuki stood impassively at us before nodding slightly and letting us in.

"Ah, welcome, Kyon, Suzumiya-san." Koizumi smiled at us, one of the few times where I got the impression that he was actually happy.

"Kyon-kun, Suzumiya-san, it's good to see you." Asahina-san was brewing tea using Nagato's kitchen.

"How did you know we'll be here?" I managed to ask.

"Two hours, twenty eight minutes, and thirty four seconds, a Kyon and Suzumiya not of this time plane entered this time, visited me and gave me explicit instructions. I complied with these instructions."

Our future selves huh?

Haruhi turned towards me, eyes shining with excitement.

"Kyon, we're going to be time travelers!"

It's not quite as exciting as you make it sound, you know.

"I don't care! It's still traveling in time!"

As if being reminded of something, she turned towards me.

"Also, you have a lot of explaining to do, Kyon! Don't leave anything out, or face the ultimate death penalty!"

It's good to know that near death experiences didn't affect this girl for long before she turned back into the tyrant we all love and miss.

Let's see… Where do I start? Ah, how I originally planned to start before we got kidnapped.

"Haruhi, I am John Smith."

* * *

A/N: I don't think I did that well on this chapter… At the end I felt like I rushed it a bit. Maybe I'll go back one day and revise it.


	3. Reprieve

"I am John Smith."

I don't even know what kind of reaction I was expecting, but I definitely was not expecting this.

She simply smiles her 100-watt smile, with the biggest smile I've ever seen.

"I knew it!" She dramatically points at me.

"I knew it! I knew it!" She really is acting like a little kid who guessed a secret from a friend. She was literally bouncing off the walls in her excitement.

"I knew it the moment I met you. Your tone of voice, your undying sarcasm, and you looked around the same. But, I thought, there was no way that you would still look the same, so I thought you might have a sibling or something. Plus, you are the only person I would know that would make such a crappy fake made up on the spot name."

Thanks for the compliment, Haruhi.

"It was that guy, right? That guy was the other Kyon, and with my long lost twin! That's why the you I talked to that day didn't know who he was."

Calm down Haruhi and stop making wild assumptions about me and my apparent 'long lost twin'.

She seems to calm down, eyes shining so bright I thought I might go blind or need sunglasses, leaning forward for an explanation like a small child.

"Tell me, Kyon! What really happened that last school year! I know something's big going on! I bet that kidnapper wanted my twin, but he mistaken me and you for our twins, so he kidnapped us. Where were our twins the last school year, and when did you find out about them?"

For the last time, they're not our long lost twins or whatever you're imagining them to be.

"Or, maybe we get drenched in magical toxic radiation that gives us superpowers! We then travel back in time and save ourselves! It all makes sense now!"

No it doesn't! I desperately looked at the other three watching the situation with mirth.

Koizumi was hiding his more genuine smile behind his hand, chuckling, Asahina smiled at us with a smile that could match Haruhi's brilliance, and I got the impression that Nagato was hiding a tiny smile.

Inside, I was also glad too. All of us, my instincts told me, held off from telling her this long because we were afraid of the reaction of our constant betrayal of her trust. We were afraid that she would recreate everything, and lose ourselves. The longer it went on, it got worse/

But we all underestimated how important we were to Haruhi. The truth is, Haruhi never had any real friends until the SOS Brigade. We were her only friends and confidents, and put up with all her demands and eccentric behavior.

I remembered how Haruhi cooked for Nagato when she was 'sick', and how she fretted over my grades. The times where she tried, in her own unique way, to build Asahina-san's confidence, and to get Nagato to express her emotions and desires. She even believed and didn't question Koizumi's stupid cover-up stories that sounded one hundred percent fake to anyone sane when it was obviously supernatural. To her, we were our own little family, and probably, as far as I can tell, were closer to her than her real immediate family.

I suppose we forgot what kind of person Haruhi is. Despite her constant threats and mistreatment, she never pushed it when it got too far, and forgave just as easily as she gave us the death penalty.

"Suzumiya-san." Koizumi finally came to my rescue. "Please calm down and listen to what Kyon has to say."

Haruhi suddenly turned eerily silent, like someone just muted her with a TV remote, looking at me like a puppy wanting a toy to play with.

I obliged with the metaphorical toy. "It all started last school year when I met you…"

As I retold our story, I looked back at all three brigade members. Everyone has changed for the better, though subtle. I got the feeling that Koizumi's smile wasn't quite as forced as it seemed as when I met him, nor Asahina-san's quiet confidence to defy what she feels is truly wrong (though I still think Haruhi's intrusion on her privacy and decency comes close), and Nagato was slowly sounding less of a spokesperson controlled by some entity and more like a real person.

Haruhi was the perfect listener, giving perfect reactions to each event as I described it. The cheating baseball game, the movie, the snow mountain, everything I could possible remember and recall. The other three listen patiently and quietly, giving their own views on things when needed. Though she lived through them, it all sounded so new when from a different perspective.

It was hours later when I finally got through telling most of the things that happened last year.

"We were kidnapped by someone who wanted to use you for your power, and me so they can get you to do what they wanted."

I neglected to say that the kidnapper was me because I was sure Haruhi was still in a state of disbelief, despite her inner child reaction.

"So our future selves came to rescue us, and here we are, in Nagato's apartment telling you everything."

"Wow." This should be a first, Haruhi speechless.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me anything! Making up such ridiculous lies to deceive me! And that drea-" She cut off, blushing, as she realized what it really was.

Haruhi yawned suddenly, and I felt the exhaustion take a hold of me too. Getting kidnapped and drugged for a while did not help your energy at all. Though, it was another first for Haruhi, showing actual fatigue. For all the adventures we went on, she was never tired, while the rest of us were besides Nagato.

But she soon fell asleep on the floor. "I swear if I get a dream like that again. I'll punch you so hard to leave a bruise so I will know it's a dream or not." Was the last thing she said before she started to snore softly.

Koizumi gave me a pointed look after she started to sleep, signaling that he wanted to talk to me privately.

"I'm worried still." He said to me after we went outside to the fresh air.

"Worried? We got Haruhi on our side."

"Yes, but I'm afraid that things will not stay the same. Our factions will try to exploit that fact actively now. It may come to the point where I will be forced to point a gun at her head with the childish attitude of, if I can't have her, no one can."

You still remember your promise right?

"I remember."

There was a moment of silence in between us, and I never felt more distant to Koizumi than now.

"Also, there was the matter of the kidnapper. Though you did not say you knew who it was, your body language told me that you did know, but was hiding it from Suzumiya-san."

"It was me, okay?" My voice was bitter and dark.

Koizumi looked confused for a second before catching on.

"I kidnapped her. I don't even know myself after all. I thought I would still be the same person at heart, not some madman who's pissed off at some event that never happened yet."

Koizumi was silent. An unusual shadow was going across his face, making his face look suddenly extremely dark.

"I see. And you didn't want to cause Suzumiya any more distress."

"I understand why the older Asahina-san doesn't want me to tell her younger self about herself. It's… plain disturbing." I felt angry and bitter again.

I explained to Koizumi about our conversation between both of us. As I finished my retelling, I felt anger and bitterness overtake me.

"Why? WHY THE HELL DID I TURN OUT LIKE THAT?" I yelled at the sky.

Koizumi grabbed my wrist tightly.

"Do not do something rash that you will regret."

I tore my hand away from his iron grip, rubbing my wrist. Why the hell would you care?

"I also have something to tell you."

Well yeah? Tell me when I don't feel so crappy or so uncaring of the world.

"It was not our fault that she overheard us that day. Suzumiya was quite suspicious by that time, so she subconscious wished that something would slip that she could hear. Thus, our conversation started, despite common sense and reason, and set it up so she could listen and force us to talk. When I looked back on that day, I realized that both of us had a very… convenient lapse of judgment. Also, it was coincidentally extremely quiet at that exact moment. You know what it's like when Suzumiya-san and coincidences are together."

There aren't any coincidences when it comes to Haruhi. I get it.

"But… I questioned Asahina-san, and she had no recollection of this event ever occurring in her future."

I wonder how he managed to get that sort of information out of Asahina.

"That is of no importance to you, Kyon."

Fine. I get it.

"Anyways, something happened to either fix this paradox. Either our memories were erased again by some means… Or the future is already changing."

I thought that the future was set. Isn't that's why the time travelers are setting things up in the background to fix things?

"In fact, Kyon, I believe that their view of the future is wrong. Let's say that somehow, you change the future that they live in. Will they notice the change? How can you notice a change that is years in the past, when you're living because of those things in the past? It is like what many call the butterfly effect. The smallest changes will make huge differences in the future. The mere existence of time travelers in this time is upsetting the future already. It is just like that one story where a group of men leave to hunt dinosaurs via time machine, but as careful as they were to not step off a technological path so they would not change the future, one of them fell off by coincidence and bad luck. The man killed one butterfly millions of years in the past. He returned to the future, and it was completely different from the future he knew. And no one noticed the difference besides him. He was labeled crazy."

This is starting to hurt my head.

"Bear with me, Kyon. Though the time difference between travel for us isn't as vast as a million years, it could be said that for our time travelers too. Though they are careful, I do not believe that they are so perfect as to not 'step off the path', even if accidents try to force them too. But, this is only a theory, and the only thing backing this up is the fact that Asahina-san does not remember this happening. I don't know how much future knowledge she has, but I assume it's enough to remember something this big happening."

I started to understand. The mere fact that time travelers exist is the fact that the future can be changed. That's why the big Asahina was so afraid to show her existence to her younger self.

"I do not believe this future you has bad intentions. Quite the opposite. He's like that other time traveler, the one with your Sasaki friend."

I don't want any part of myself, even future me, to be compared to that rude bastard.

"I believe that your future self wants to change the future so that you will not go through the same things he will. To spare you the anguish. I also believe from hearing what you said that Suzumiya is the central point of his madness, though if it's by something she did, or… something happening to her that you refuse to accept and move on."

Well that's nice. I go mad from whatever happens to Haruhi, anyways.

"Of course, this is just a base hypothesis. The last theory I had was that there isn't a 'future' at all. There are just multiple parallel dimensions, an infinite amount of them. They could be instead of traveling time, they were traveling in between parallel dimensions which are placed in a different time frame than us. But as I have no proof to back any of these up, I will leave these theories to rest."

Well that was a long and complicated explanation for nothing.

"But it did get your mind off thinking about your future self, at least for a few minutes. Also, Kyon, remember that the whole SOS Brigade is behind you more than any of their own factions. If worst comes to worst… We'll stick together."

Thanks, Koizumi, that means a lot. And with a wave and smile, he went back inside.

I leaned against the balcony for a while longer, looking at the night sky. My mind went back to Asahina and her future self. If the younger Asahina knew about the more dangerous and manipulative character her older self would become, would she try to change who she becomes? When we look at our future self, we stare into our very souls, because you cannot tell change without time.

I needed answers from the future. I needed to find out how to contact the older Asahina-san, and force her to tell me what really happens in the future. There were too many questions left unsaid through that little talk between my future self and I.

Tomorrow… I will get answers.

* * *

I was back in the jail cell. My future self was facing me again, holding Haruhi as a captive.

I shouted something, but all he did was smile cruelly.

He pulled out a gleaming gun and he settled it onto her head finger poised to shoot.

I knew that I had to get to Haruhi. I ran, but I never seemed to get closer. I screamed, but nothing seemed to come out of my mouth.

_Do you want to know what I experienced to become like this? _My future self wordlessly asked me the question I was asking myself since I met him.

_Do you?_

I don't know, dammit! I don't understand why I'm like this, and became like this.

_Do you?_

He asked a third time with me not answering before speaking again.

_The future will not change unless you make a decision. Letting the future run its course will result in what you see now. Learning the future is a burden, but also the key to freedom._

That other time traveling bastard popped into my head for a second again. Was he really the bad guy who wanted to change the future? How did I know if the future wasn't already a bad place?

_I will ask for the last time. Choose._

Silence. I feel the pressure of choice on me, but I did not falter or contemplate the consequences of my actions. Normally, I would pass this off as a nightmare, but at this point, I didn't doubt that this choice would either save the world or damn it again. It was too real to not be a dream.

"I will see whatever you will show me."

_Good._

Suddenly, he disappeared, and Asahina was standing there, gun pointing at Haruhi's head.

"Asahina-san? What are you doing here?"

Her voice was cold and emotionless with Asahina-san's voice, and I instinctively shivered by the sound of it. "I am ordered by my superiors to terminate Suzumiya Haruhi. I hope there are no hard feelings, Kyon-kun."

I cried out again. She fired. I saw the blood fly out of Haruhi's head, her empty gaze as she fell down dead. I was lost in those eyes for forever as they locked onto mine.

I almost lost it right there. It was hundreds of times worse than when Asakura tried to kill me. It was like someone stomped on my heart and soul, and burned it until there was nothing left.

My world started to collapse. I collapsed to my knees, seeing nothing but Haruhi's corpse as it lay on the floor.

Asahina smiled. "Objective complete. Now, to finish the mission."

Nagato and Koizumi appeared next to her. In two quick shots, they lay next to Haruhi, unmoving.

Finally, she pointed the gun at her head. "Goodbye, Kyon." She fired at herself, and her body joined Haruhi's on the floor.

I just could stare at the four corpses that lay in front of me while the world slowly disappeared into a brilliant flash of light.

* * *

I shot up out of the futon I found myself lying on, and stared back at the concerned looks that came towards me.

Everyone except Haruhi was awake by now, despite all of them sleeping after both of us, and were quietly conversing.

I caught the eye of Asahina-san, and I involuntarily shivered again, remembering every single detail of what she did in my dream.

This wasn't the same Asahina… Was it?

Nagato was now staring at me curiously. "When you saw Asahina Mikuru, you felt what you label as involuntary fear and distrust for 1.865 seconds before you got control over your emotions. I assume based on the sleep patterns I observed that a dream was the cause."

"Just a nightmare." For some reason, though I knew that all of them were on my side one hundred percent of the way personally, I couldn't help but feel that there was something stopping each of them from fully supporting me with everything they had, so I didn't clarify or go into details.

Koizumi narrowed his eyes at me, turning into a very suspicious look. I avoided his gaze and sent another apologetic look to Asahina-san. My fears were slowly disappearing as I looked upon her. She was busily cooking for everyone, much to my pleasure. But, she couldn't help but shoot worried glances at me every once in a while.

Koizumi looked like he was about to ask for a private "chat", but the last person in our SOS Brigade was finally alert.

"That was a great sleep! Thanks for having me over Yuki-chan!" Haruhi burst in, as energetic and alert as ever when she was awake in the morning.

After such a disturbing nightmare, it is good that some consistency is found. Haruhi, acting like yesterday was as normal as it could get, was extremely comforting.

As Haruhi sat down, her face suddenly had a huge look of intense concentration as she stared at a spot on the table. Everyone looked, slightly anxious to the end result.

Finally, she sat back, obviously unsatisfied with the end result.

"Nothing happened!" She complained, "I tried to make a banana appear on the table, but nothing happened."

Koizumi smiled gently. "Suzumiya-san, I don't think that you can do anything right after learning it."

Haruhi quickly looked up. "Of course! When a character in a game gets a power, he starts at level 1! It must be like the same thing!"

No it isn't… I just don't think you quite believe it yourself yet subconsciously.

"But how do I gain experience?" Her eyes furrowed in deep thought.

This isn't a role playing game! Get a hold of yourself before you really do turn this world into one!

Fortunately, Asahina-san finished cooking, and placed steaming food in front of us.

We ate in relative silence, and the only sounds was when Haruhi stopped eating and tried to invoke her godlike powers in some fashion or another, which failed to everyone's hidden relief. Who knows what kind of strange things she might be trying to make or do?

Though the air was light and comforting, I knew this was only a prelude to the troubles that would come within the next week. There was something dangerous stirring outside, and like usual, Haruhi was in the center of it, although a little more informed this time.

* * *

Prologue End.

* * *

A/N: This is a lot darker than I intended it to be, but then again, that's what make stories interesting… After all, there is no good protagonist without a good villain behind him.


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